Mourning Into Dancing: Many Things Can Cause Sorrow, God Alone Turns Our Sadness Into Joy

By Walter Wangerin Jr.

Book Overview

"Death doesn't wait till the ends of our lives to meet us and to make an end," says Walter Wangerin. "Instead, we die a hundred times before we die; and all the little endings on the way are like a slowly growing echo of the final BANG " Yet out of our many losses, our "little deaths," comes a truer recognition of life. It is found in our relationships with ourselves, with our world, with others, and with our Creator. This is the dancing that can come out of mourning: the hope of restored relationships. Mourning into Dancing defines the stages of grief, names the many kinds of loss we suffer, shows how to help the grief-stricken, gives a new vision of Christ's sacrifice, and shows how a loving God shares our grief. We learn from this book that the way to dancing is through the valley of mourning--that grief is a poignant reminder of the fullness of life Christ obtained for us through his resurrection. In the words of writer and critic John Timmerman, Mourning into Dancing "could well be the most important book you ever read."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310207657
• ISBN13: 9780310207658
• Release Date: June 1996
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

Practical, inspiring

A friend has experienced a horrible loss. Are you like me? You want so much to be an encouragement, but you don't know what to say or what to do. "Mourning into Dancing" explores all types of loss and the accompanying grief. Part 2 is extremely practical in helping someone deal with the grief that comes from death.

The Most Important Book I've Ever Read

Mr. Wangerin's storytelling is so appealing and real. I wept, I laughed, I grieved, I healed. This could be the most important book you ever read.In examining the issues surrounding grief and loss, Mr. Wangerin goes far beyond simply explaining the stages of grieving that one goes through. The most important concept I gained from this book is that of "relationships" we have at every level and, most importantly, with God.I read this after having buried my mother who endured a long and grusome battle with cancer. How difficult it is to be a part of that process. Why is so much suffering allowed? This book brought understanding, illumination, revelation, joy, and the inexplicable healing catharsis of weeping with others and thereby understanding my own experience. All this is learned in the comforting context of the loving arms of God, who allows grief to draw us back to Himself.This is a book which should be given to every person grieving a loss of any kind.

Another blessing from Mr Wangerin

This book was a gift to me after my newborn daughter died. I found myself making notes and identifing with Mr. Wangerin's explaination of the 4 stages of grief. VERY heplful to anyone in any type of grief, and as always, a real blessing from an old friend.

Mourning into Dancing

this book is absolutely amazing. my dad died about two years ago.. im 17 by the way...and i am still grieving but this book has opened my eyes to the goodness of the process and how god will bring me back to life after this death that happened not only to my father but also to me. you have to read it..it truly is the most important book i have ever read in my life.

Blessing, not dysfunction, from generation to generation

The opening chapter of this book offers the most poignant description of the teenage condition in the English language--from both the parent's and the teen's point of view. My other favorite passage describes Wangerin's relationship with his father. This is the type of book that can help pass blessing rather dysfunction from generation to generation